


In Peace, Vigilance

by Writing_In_Denial



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alistair mentions, Drunk Hawke, End Game: Carver Hawke/Male Cousland, End Game: Hawke/Merrill, Eventual DA:Inquisition, Eventual Inquisitor Carver Hawke, F/M, Grey Wardens, Hero of Ferelden - Freeform, Inquisitor Carver Hawke, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Poor Alistair, Poor Cousland, Purple Hawke, Starts during DA:II, Warden Carver Hawke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 06:59:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11984601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writing_In_Denial/pseuds/Writing_In_Denial
Summary: The hero of Ferelden disappeared after the fifth blight. The death of his best friend, King Alistair was too much for his heavy heart to handle. Queen Anora took the throne, and she and the Hero's brother, Fergus Cousland- eventually became married as a political campaign for the Queen's reign. The hero himself, Aedan Cousland, wasn't seen again in Ferelden for quite some time. He had left to the Free Marches long ago, not able to stay in the place with so many hurtful memories. With his mabari at his side, he vanished into history as a legend.





	In Peace, Vigilance

Kirkwall was... much different than Ferelden. The mabari at his side seemed to smell the difference in the air, baring his teeth and growling at the shadows of the golden statues far above them. The weeping postures making the dog anxious. Aedan pats the mabari's head, scratching behind its ears. The beast settled down quickly, laying its head in Aedan's lap. Around them he could hear the creak and groan of the ship, the sway of the vessel made his head hurt and his stomach lurch. He hated ships. "It's okay Floof, I'm sure the city isn't too bad." The dog huffed as if he didn't believe him. "Aw, come on. Trust me, besides- I'm sure there are lots of things you can pee on." The mabari wagged it's tail, perking his head up. "I thought so." 

It was a while yet before they docked, once they did- Aedan felt good to be on solid ground again. His legs wobbly from all the days at sea. Aedan and Floof settled down under the shade of some of the stonework and ate a quick lunch. The cold of the early morning seeping into his clothing and making him feel slightly cold. He felt almost naked without his armor on. Though he decided a while ago to be inconspicuous, spending his time here- he was trying to start over. He didn't want to be given any titles, he just wanted to settle down and... not die. Preferably. Besides, Aedan would probably be sick if someone called him 'The Hero of Ferelden'. He wasn't a hero, Alistair was. It was just a shame he wasn't here for them to see the truth. Still, despite his insistence on starting over- in his pack was his Grey Warden armor, and on his back was Alistair's sword- his own dagger as his secondary weapon. 

Aedan allowed his eyes to take in the sight of the Gallows. His mother didn't lie about Kirkwall, it was a city of cold stone. With the looks on the people's faces as they passed... there were cold people too. His mother once told him that cold walls made for cold hearts, he wasn't sure if he was able to prove her wrong. The man frowned, he missed Ferelden already. The tug of homesickness pulling at his chest. He's certain it wasn't the land he missed, but the people within it that made his heart hurt.

At the same time, it was too much. He couldn't stay there anymore. Maybe he was a coward, maybe he was weak. But he just couldn't stay in Ferelden, not the place where so much death happened. He grits his teeth, remembering Alistair's sacrifice, his mother and father's demise, Oren and Oriana's bodies, the remnants of Lothering as he passed through to go back to the Korcari wilds to Flemeth's hut. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind, at least for the moment. Tossing Floof a piece of jerky, the dog snapped at it. Quickly the salted meat was gone in a blink of an eye. Wagging his nub of a tail, the dog ran around in a tight circle before bouncing away. Probably going to make true on what Aedan told the dog earlier about peeing on things. Hopefully, it wasn't on someone this time. Aedan didn't bother stopping the mabari, he'd be back. He always was.  
Aedan rubbed his face, trying not to pick at his scar. It was an angry pink in color, showing that it was still mending itself. It crossed over his eyebrow and curved down the side of his jaw. Passing through his eye, the eye had lost all color- now instead of a smokey blue, it was now a stark white in color. He had lost his eye the day they fought the Archdemon, he wasn't upset about it though. Not when Alistair lost far worse than he. 

He should never have taken him in his party, he should have known Alistair would be stupidly heroic. 

Aedan should have been the one who died that night. 

When Floof came back, he licked at Aedan's face- sensing distress rolling off of his friend in waves. Aedan sputtered some and chuckled, trying to push the mabari away. Wiping his face from slobber, he tried not to cringe too much at the feeling. Despite being around mabaris ever since he was young, he could never get used to the smell of their breath. "Two words- War. Dog. Your breath doesn't smell like daisies." The dog whined, and Aedan rolled his eyes. "Find anything interesting to pee on boy?" He asked, the dog barked. From far away he could hear the very loud complaining of a Templar. "Are you serious Floof?" The mabari didn't look the slightest bit guilty, tail wagging all the while. "You have no shame. Anyways... I think that's our cue to go." 

He paid off one of the Templars at the front entrance to let him in the gates. Managing to avoid the one that Floof made angry. He wasn't sure what he was going to do in Kirkwall exactly- all he knew is that he was here. He hadn't decided yet if he wanted to settle down and do something normal, or if he still wanted adventure. Both made his gut churn, neither felt like the right decision. 

He still had time to choose though. He could live off of what he had for a while, saving the world makes you rich he supposes. For now, he decided to sight see. He is after all new to the city.  
\---  
Hightown reminded him slightly of Orzammar. Everything either being stone or covered in gold and elegant designs. What Kirkwall was lacking was lava, thankfully. He hated it, he can't count how many times Alistair yanked him up by the back of his collar from crumbling structures in the Deep Roads. Just barely not falling into the glowing pit at the bottom. Between the darkspawn and the consistent flow of magma, he didn't know what was worse.  
His heart clenched at the thought of his... friend. 

Speaking of darkspawn and Deep Roads- he felt the buzzing in his temples. He could sense darkspawn nearby, it made him feel on edge. He heard there were Deep Roads nearby Kirkwall. It's not like he wasn't used to constantly sensing darkspawn during the blight, however, after a while, it was bound to get annoying. 

Aedan's thoughts were broken as his mabari ran off, bounding down some stone steps and into a market place area. He grumbled, knowing he should probably go after the dog before Floof managed to get Aedan on the bad side of all the Templars in Kirkwall. 

Jogging down the steps two at a time, he watched as his mabari slammed into some poor fellow. Knocking them down and making them land on their back. Instead of tearing out his throat though, he simply licked the man's face. Some war dog he was.

"Floof! Heel!" He commanded, the dog perked up, his ears twitching- whining some before retreating from the man and setting himself down beside Aedan's feet. He sighed before walking over to the man he knocked over. He was a younger fellow with black hair and blue eyes... and he was gigantic. About nine or so inches taller than Aedan and biceps as big as a log. Then again, a lot of people were taller than Aedan. Still, it was amazing how Floof managed to knock him over. "Sorry about that." He offered his hand to help him up, which the stranger brushed off. Standing on his own. "He gets a little excited sometimes." 

"You named a war dog Floof?" The man's accent was surprisingly Ferelden. He wasn't expecting many if any Fereldens in Kirkwall. Then again, refugees must have come to Kirkwall during the blight. 

Retracting his hand a bit sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck. "It wasn't me who named him." It was the truth; when the mabari chose him- little Oren was with him at the time. Since Oren wasn't allowed to have a dog of his own, he let Oren choose the name. He resisted the urge to frown. He should have been there faster for Oren. "Sorry again for the trouble." 

Floof bounded up to the stranger, this time thankfully not trying to knock him over. Instead, he ran around the man's legs- sniffing at his feet before stopping in front of him and sitting down. Eyes expectant and tail thumping against the cobblestone. The stranger gestured to the dog. "May I pet him?" 

"Of course. Go ahead." Aedan at least hoped that the stranger would be a little less upset at being pushed down. It didn't help that he was attractive either. Aedan would put two sovereigns and guess that Floof did this on purpose for some devious reason. Mabaris are too smart for their own good. 

The man knelt down and began to pet the dog. Scratching behind his ears and rubbing under his chin. Making the dog give a low groaning sound. "We don't see many mabaris in Kirkwall... are you Ferelden? You sound it." 

"Yeah, lived in Highever most of my life. Then I began to travel around Ferelden for a while before I came here." He grinned slightly, watching the scene. "You're Ferelden too I assume?" He asked. Which the other nodded to. 

"I came from Lothering." Aedan gave a sympathetic look- guilt lingering behind Aedan's eyes as well, the other man shrugged it off. Standing to his full height, Aedan had to crane his neck to look up at him. "My name is Carver Hawke." He offered a hand to shake, surprisingly enough. It seemed that the way to get in his good graces was to let him pet his mabari. He should remember that for later. Taking the hand extended, he shook it once before letting go. 

"I'm-" However before he could give his name, he heard the other man's name called from somewhere. An older woman appearing from behind the stalls.  
The woman seemed relieved when she finally saw him. "Carver your brother and I have been looking everywhere for you. We have to get back to Gamlen's house soon, I don't want to be out after dark." She then noticed Aedan. "Oh, hello." Soon another man appeared beside the gray haired woman, instantly Aedan's eyes locked onto the man's beard in slight jealousy. He could never grow one. 

"I see you met my baby brother." The new man talked. Carver's face scrunched up at that, though before he could protest the older man began to talk again. "I'm Garrett Hawke, most people call me Hawke. This is my mother, Leandra." 

"A pleasure my lady." He gave a polite smile and a small bow. 

She gave one as well in return. "Such manners, if only I could teach these two." Both of the brothers rolled their eyes at the comment. "Are you new to Kirkwall? You sound Ferelden." 

He nodded, however before he could explain- Carver did it for him. "He comes from Highever mother." 

"Did you happen by any chance know the Couslands? My husband was a friend of the Teryn- Bryce Cousland." 

Aedan couldn't hide the slight wince at the mention of his father. The memory of watching the life slowly seep out of him as he was forced to abandon him and his mother still in his thoughts. The dog beside him whining. "Yes, I did. They were good people." 

"Were?" 

He swallowed thickly. "They died." Leandra looked slightly upset. "Everyone was killed-except for their two sons. They were betrayed by the Arl I think." He knew, but still- he wasn't quite sure yet if he wanted to announce himself as Aedan Cousland just yet-- or ever. 

Leandra sighed slightly, seeming to deflate. "That's a shame. I hear so little of Ferelden lately, now to get news like this." She then pats the older Hawke sibling on the shoulder. 

"We should get going. It was a pleasure meeting you." He nodded as they left. 

He had some things to think about.  
\---  
He stopped by in Lowtown, after asking around for the better part of the day Aedan learned that the Hanged Man wasn't too expensive and offered rooms. What he wasn't expecting was to be ambushed by thugs. He should have known though. Denerim was around the same size as Kirkwall with twice as many guards, there were however twice as many thugs there. He should have been a bit less quick to settle in. Every place no matter how supposedly spotless still has their crime.

Dodging a blow from a dagger from the man he was fighting, he lashed out with a kick to the man's groin. It was a dirty move but it bought him some time- quickly slashing at the weak points on the man's armor. His blades shimmered in the low light of dusk, blood clinging onto the edges as he spun around behind the man and quickly decapitated him. He went to assist his mabari, who was currently keeping a few more heavily armored opponents occupied while he had been picking off some of their archers and rogues.  
His footsteps were light and calculated. The other fighters could barely lay a hand on him, Aedan was almost taunting them as he twisted and dodged their blades. Stabbing one man in the eye with a dagger, he pulled out the blade before sidestepping the maul of an angry thug. 

The man was all power and was a bit faster than Aedan was expecting. He was caught off guard by the next hit- getting knocked back onto the ground. That was certain to leave a bruise. Before he managed to get crushed, a figure jumped from his peripheral vision. A greatsword being brought down on the man hard. The lunge was a thing of beauty, and certainly something that Aedan wasn't likely to forget. Rolling to his feet, he jumped back into the fight. He killed a few more thugs, one of the warriors taunted him and bashed their sword against their shield. He attempted to duck around the defensive stance and sink his sword into the man's thigh- avoiding an out lash from the shield, Aedan took a few steps back. However soon a bright blue ball of magic hit the thug. The warrior he was fighting being frozen solid. Looking around, he didn't see any more of the thugs.

"Well, that was fun. Are you okay?" He turned, recognizing the man he met earlier as Hawke, putting away a staff. Carver was with him as well, greatsword slung over his shoulders like it was as light as a feather. 

"Wait a second, I remember you. You were the one Carver met earlier at the market, don't think I caught your name." 

Catching his breath some, Aedan finally sheathed his weapons. Feeling safe enough. "I didn't get a chance to give it. My name is Aedan, this is my mabari Floof." Luckily neither Carver nor Hawke recognized the name, though Hawke did raise an eyebrow at the name Floof. "Thanks for the save by the way- I'd rather not be ground into a fine paste by an angry thug," Floof growled at that. Aedan turned to his dog. "Good that we're both on the same page." The dog barked, wagging its tail. 

Aedan glanced up at the man who was still frozen- before looking back at Hawke. The bearded man looked a cross between a little nervous and a bit defensive. Carver also looked like he was ready to take off Aedan's head if he thought he was even vaguely threatening to Hawke. "You're not going to try and tell the Templars that I froze people-- are you?"

The rogue glanced back at the frozen man, putting a finger under his chin as if he was thinking. "Hmm, such a lovely statue. Don't you think?" He asked with a coy smile, one that Hawke returned. "I had a few friends that liked... sculpting statues like this. Still, Templars might not like it too much. Don't worry, it'll be our secret." 

"I'm glad someone appreciates fine art." Both of the brothers visibly relaxed. 

Carver decided to get into the conversation finally. "So, why are you in Lowtown at this time of night anyway?" 

Aedan shrugged. "To enjoy the sights, plus Floof needed a snack." He glanced over to where the dog had pulled off one of the thug's boots and was chewing on it. "Better their shoes than mine. I could ask you the same thing though. I thought your mother was complaining about being out after dark." 

"We got her home, we decided not to be." Carver sheathed his weapon and crossed his gigantic arms over his chest. Aedan was convinced he was half Quinari. He was a bit distracted by his thoughts on Carver's massive frame than the ambiguous answer. Not like it was any of Aedan's business anyway. 

He nodded. "Fair enough. The actual reason I'm out and about is that I was looking for the Hanged Man. You know directions?" 

Hawke stood up from his spot checking some thugs' pockets, weighing a coin purse in his hand as he did so before tying it onto his belt. "We were actually going there too. Since we not only saved you but gave you some exquisite art to look at- think you could buy us a drink?" 

Aedan chuckled slightly. Glancing at both the brothers. "Why not. First round is on me. The rest is on you."  
\---  
"You look familiar." Carver decided halfway through their first flagon of ale. It tasted watered down and cheap, but hopefully, enough of it would get Aedan drunk eventually.  
Aedan decided to nervously dodge the question. "We met earlier today, remember?" He quipped. Before taking another swig of his ale. Hawke had wandered off earlier to talk to various women who seemed interested in him. Carver had grumbled about it and called them 'exploits'. Seems the older Hawke was the type to sleep around. 

Carver huffed and rolled his eyes. "I meant before that." He replied. "You seemed familiar then too." 

Aedan scratched his cheek, thinking of a good way to answer. He had passed through Lothering during his travels...twice. However, he doesn't remember seeing Carver. Still, he had a lot on his mind at that point, with stopping the blight and all. Or maybe it was when he had come to Ostagar, with his skills he might have joined the Ferelden Army. "I just have one of those faces I guess." He shrugged. Carver didn't seem pleased at the excuse but didn't push. He was obviously the more quiet one of the two brothers, though for some reason Aedan imagined he had an explosive temper. 

"You're an excellent fighter." He told Carver. "That jump and slash thing you did to that one thug- very heroic," Aedan smirked. Carver seemed surprised at the compliment. His cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment. 

"Thank you. But my brother Hawke is the better fighter." 

"Take the damn compliment. Stop trying to compare. I did that with my brother, it just ended up making me miserable over problems I didn't even have." He nudged the other man's shoulder. "You're a great fighter. Trust me I know, I've seen a lot of them." 

They chatted for a while longer. Carver asked about Aedan's travels and Aedan gave answers that were as vague as possible without tipping him off that he was avoiding giving answers. Though still, Aedan didn't feel like he was being interrogated. Carver asked a question and usually didn't prod if it looked like Aedan didn't want to go too much in depth. Aedan asked some questions too, though the conversation was mostly one sided. Still, he provided good drinking company. 

When Hawke came back to collect Carver, the younger man was probably the loudest he's been all night. Saying a few scathing remarks to a heavily drunken and obviously post-coital Hawke. Carver apologized to Aedan before helping his stumbling brother out of the Hanged Man, though not before offering to go back to the Hanged Man again another day for a drink if Aedan was still in Kirkwall by then. 

Soon after, Aedan got he and his mabari some dinner and a room for the night. Eating the stew and bread as he read through his codex of the things he's collected and seen in the past years. His hands stopped flipping through pages at Alistair's name. He sighed heavily before snapping the book shut. Blowing out the candle and calling it a night.


End file.
